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The global interest in Islam is increasing with every passing day. One of the centers of that interest is Japan, where Far Eastern religions have for so long been predominant...Over the last 5 years, young people who have shown such an interest in Islam have discovered great peace and happiness within it. Leyko, a lady who once believed in Buddhism, decided to convert to Islam after visiting Jordan, Syria and Turkey, and changed her name to Leyla. “I felt as if I had been reborn after converting to Islam. That feeling has never left me,” says Leyla, who describes her conversion to Islam as follows:

“I was really curious about how I lived in this world, where I would go after death, the meaning of life and what the truth is. I turned aside from Buddhism, because the philosophy of Buddhism and the acts of worship performed for Buddha seemed ridiculous to me. At that point I also began questioning the life of Japanese society. People were working the whole time and were little different to robots. Did these people come into the world solely in order to work? I asked many questions, but never found the answers to them.”

Leyla began attending classes to learn Arabic after a visit to Jordan and Syria, and continues:

“Arabic allowed me to acquire new information about Islam, and my interest in Islam began growing by the day. A year went by like that, and then I went to Turkey for my summer holiday... A few days after returning to Japan from Turkey I began reading a translation of the Qur’an. The Qur’an answered all the questions in my mind. It taught me the meaning of life and described how I should live in this world. I was particularly affected by the verses about the creation and functioning of the universe. The more I read the Qur’an, the more I understood the greatness of Allah and realized my position before the Creator. Within 2 weeks I read the Japanese translation of the Qur’an from front to back.

… After reading the Qur’an I further stepped up my research into Islam. The books of hadith in particular prepared me for Islam. Thanks to the hadith, I acquired new customs to replace my old ones. Following that research process that lasted some 6 months, I went to the Tokyo Islamic Center and converted to Islam by reciting the word affirming the word of tawhid (Oneness of Allah).

… According to information I have received from the Islamic Center, at least 5 Japanese people a day convert to Islam by reciting the word affirming the word of tawhid. We think that this figure will rise still further in the years to come.“